Disputes over empirical method concealed conflicts over reform versus revolution

Evidence

The question of the value of empirical research was connected in a confused way with the question whether there should be reform or revolution. The problem of how to make good music appeal to as many people as possible appeared to Adorno, under existing social conditions and in the way that broadcasting was currently organized, to be meaningless. — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 265

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Frames the methodological conflict as a coded political one — the level of analysis (administration of culture vs. transformation of society) determines what counts as meaningful research.
• XREF: connects to: Futility of reform claims divert attention from ubiquitous semiautomatics; The French Revolution supplied usable models but not general laws of revolution — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 954; Holding history against human essence yields a categorical demand for total revolution over reform — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 421 (+2 more)
• yield-rescued: below the book’s yield-target cutoff, included anyway for connecting to: Futility of reform claims divert attention from ubiquitous semiautomatics; The French Revolution supplied usable models but not general laws of revolution — Charles Tilly, Regimes and Repertoires, 954; Holding history against human essence yields a categorical demand for total revolution over reform — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School: Its History,…, 421 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Methodological disputes served as proxy arenas for substantive social theory conflicts #corroborates (0.95) — Rolf Wiggershaus, The Frankfurt School, 2046